Results: Calendar of Events
November 20, 2009
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Mat-Su College Public Square Renewable Energy Lecture Series: Small Hydro Power in Alaska – Earle Ausman of Polar Consult
Building: FSM 204-206 7:00-8:30PM at Matanuska-Susitna College – Mile 2 Trunk Road, Palmer
Earle Ausman will discuss micro hydro in Alaska. Information will be provided on site selection and optimization, water flow measurements, pipelines, turbine-generators, control systems and transmission, and a brief mention of permitting and costs. Illustrations of small hydro systems now operating in Alaska will be shown. Additional sources of information for hydro will be provided as well.
Earle Ausman has been working on hydro systems since 1961. He is currently President of Polarconsult Alaska Inc., whose small hydro projects included: Fishhook, 2MW; Southfork, 1.2 MW; Glacier Fork, 70 MW; Lace 6, MW; Fourth of July Creek, 4MW; Atka, 275 kW; as well as 7 other small plants. PCA owns and operates the 100 kW McRoberts Creek project, which sells power to MEA.
October 30, 2009
7:00 pm to 8:30 pm
Mat-Su College Public Square Renewable Energy Lecture Series: As remote communities struggle to find ways to offset the high cost of fuel for electricity and heating, wind energy offers a solution. Katherine Keith, Alaska Center for Energy and Power’s Wind Diesel Application Center, will discuss the status of existing Wind Diesel Systems in the state of Alaska while highlighting the future potential of these systems.
Building: FSM 204-206 7:00-8:30PM at Matanuska-Susitna College – Mile 2 Trunk Road, Palmer
November 9, 2009
8:00 am to 5:00 pm
Hotel Captain Cook, 939 West 5th Avenue, Anchorage
The Alaska chapter of the Cascadia Region Green Building Council is sponsoring two half-day workshops on LEED for Existing Buildings. Presenters are Elaine Aye and Ted Spear of Green Building Services. For more information, go to http://anchorageleedeb11092009.eventbrite.com
October 28, 2009
From Business Wire(via Reuters:) Helix Wind Corp. (OTCBB: HLXW), a global renewable energy company, reported today that its S594 wind turbine installation in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, performed well during a major winter storm, withstanding winds in excess of 80 mph, according to its owners, Joshua Williams and Lilia Howard of Dutch Harbor.
“We`d like to thank everyone at Helix,” said Williams. “The turbine was up and running just in time for our first winter storm, during which the S594 took wind gusts of greater than 80 mph like a champ.” Read more
October 27, 2009
The Ginetta Zytek 09-SH, the first Le Mans prototype car capable of being powered by three different motive systems, has hit the race circuit this year. It can run on:
- a conventional 4.0 liter V8 internal combustion engine;
- a gasoline/electric hybrid power train that uses the V8 in combination with a 35kw electric motor, and;
- an all-electric drive system powered by a lithium-ion battery recharged through regenerative braking.
Steve Pruitt, a Utah businessman, and Corsa Motorsports have been testing the car on the American Le Mans Series this past racing season, getting good results. The power under the hood is an ethanol-burning V8 that generates 625 horsepower. The power train was developed by Zytek Motorsport, a British engineering company. Pruitt believes the car’s improved gas mileage may allow it to skip at least one stop during the next season’s important opening race, the 12 hours of Le Mans at the Sebring International Raceway, and even more after his team has worked out more of the kinks. Read more here
October 27, 2009
U.S. Department of Energy’s EERE program gives an interesting run down in their newsletter this week on the state of “cleantech” and historical ties between recessions and great inventions. Entrepreneurs, whether in California’s Silicon Valley, Boston, Seattle or Atlanta, are always searching for the “Next Big Thing.” Many believe they have found it in clean energy, or what they call “cleantech.” Within this definition they include such things as wind, solar and bio power, energy storage devices, smart grid electricity, plug-in electric cars and energy efficient buildings.
They may be right. Clean, efficient energy lies at the heart of our industrial and everyday strength, and some of America’s most important new products have been developed during hard economic times. The depression of the 1870s saw development of early telephones and phonographs. In the recession of 1958, the integrated circuit hit the marketplace, changing everything. In slump years of the late 1970s and early 1980s, personal computers burst onto the scene, starting a new era of globalization and major changes in how we work and play.
Among the “big idea” new energy technologies currently being explored are:
- Space-based solar power (beaming microwave energy down to earth);
- Advanced car batteries (lithium air);
- Utility-scale energy storage (distributed, lithium-ion batteries);
- Carbon capture and storage (underground storage, clean coal technologies);
- Advanced biofuels (algae-based liquid fuel production).
At the same time, many more down-to-earth products are already moving out of the laboratory and into the marketplace. One example is a new roofing shingle from Dow Chemical Company that incorporates thin-film solar photovoltaic (PV) technology into the roofing material itself, rather than having to be added on as an afterthought. DOE’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory has, for years, led the way in developing these technologies.
“These shingles are rugged and easy to install. You can walk on them, just like an ordinary shingle,” Dow spokesperson Dave Parrillo said. “They can be installed by a roofer having no special training and using an ordinary nail gun. No electrician is required on the roof, because there is no complicated roof-side wiring.”
The shingles look like traditional roofing and cost far less than current, high-end solar shingles made to fit in with conventional slate or clay tile roofing materials. To see the full newsletter or to subscribe, click here
October 27, 2009
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the DOE national laboratories are releasing technical support documents that suggest how to achieve 50% energy savings in four key commercial building sectors – general merchandise, grocery store, lodging, and medium office buildings. This is taking place less than two years after launching the Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building Initiative, which aims to achieve marketable net-zero energy commercial buildings by 2025. The technical support documents, which include specific recommendations for reducing energy use, were created by the DOE national laboratories under the direction of DOE’s Building Technologies Program. To read more, and to download the reports which include specific recomme, click here
October 27, 2009
A good story by Eric Lidji at the Petroleum News tracing some of the history of the natural gas situation in Cook Inlet: The Kenai gas field started out as an oddball no one quite knew what to do with, but became an essential component of daily life and industry in Southcentral Alaska. And now, at 50, the field is like most people its age: a bit slower, but still moving. The discovery gave the Anchorage region — where two-thirds of the state’s population lives — a crucial tool for survival in the far north: a cheap, nearby source of energy. But abundant natural gas also made Southcentral dependent on the fuel, which is becoming a growing problem as fields like Kenai age and fade away and as natural gas prices locally have risen over the decades since the discovery of the field. Read more.
October 27, 2009
From the LA Times: President Obama and administration officials today will announce $3.4 billion in spending projects to modernize the nation’s electric power system. The president will offer details on funding for the “smart grid” during an appearance at a solar plant in Arcadia, Fla. White House officials said the projects would create tens of thousands of jobs in the near term and lay the groundwork for changing how Americans use and pay for energy.The spending is aimed at improving the efficiency and reliability of the U.S. power supply, and helping to create markets for wind and solar power, officials said. They also said it would create “smart meters” to help consumers use electricity when demand is low and when rates are cheaper — for example, by running dishwashers and other energy-thirsty appliances in the middle of the night. Read more
April 27, 2010 to April 29, 2010
The 6th Alaska Rural Energy Conference in Fairbanks hosts state and nation-wide experts to provide practical information, presentations and workshops on energy for individuals and communities in rural Alaska. For more information, click here
